Rivalry of the Descendants of Chinggis Khan and His Brother Khasar as a Factor in Mongolian History

Abstract

Relations between Chinggis Khan and his younger brother Khasar were somewhat strained at times. In accordance with Mongolian tradition Chinggis Khan’s brothers and their descendants were allotted lands in the eastern part of the Mongolian Plateau. This fact became a crucial point in the early seventeenth century when descendants of Khasar turned rather to the resurging Manchu state than to the last Mongolian ruler Ligdan Khan. At that time another famous Khasar’s descendant Gushi Khan crushed the remaining supporters of Ligdan Khan in the Qinghai area and established the paramountcy of the Gelugpa school in Tibet with his military forces. Owing to continuous intermarriages with Manchu Qing emperors Khasar’s descendants became closely linked to the ruling dynasty during its entire reign.